Apprentice
by Shockwave's-Apprentice
Summary: First chapter only. I plan on putting pictures into the other chapters, see, so I'll probably put the entire thing on my other account as a pdf so that you guys can see all my -sona's pretty pictures :3 At the end of the first chapter is a link to the my other account; have a look every so often to see what I've put up C:


Just so you know, I won't be putting the complete one on THIS site. Instead I'll put it on my deviantart account, .com

When I have any more of this posted, I'll update this and put a link, but for now, it's just this.

Btw, this is set in an alternate "Prime" verse. Meaning that we have PREDACONS :3

Oh, and warning; In later entries, Fright goes un poco loca OnO

If Master Shockwave ever finds this, then I'm doomed.

Hello, my name is Fright. It is a nickname that I have been given by my Master's co-workers, but I wear it proudly. It's much better than Jillian anyway.

This is a personal journal that I've decided to keep because though my life here is interesting, it is also _extremely_ lonely. I no longer attend school and my contact with the outside world is limited and monitored. Though I see my Master daily and his co-workers, superiors and liaison on occasion, it isn't the same as real human contact, even though some of them are human or very close to it. I am expected to behave professionally, and that includes not expressing my opinions on certain subjects as well as remaining emotionally stable, both of which I find challenging without a pair of ears to listen to my constant complaining. Therefore, I shall confine my griping to this notebook.

I am Shockwave's Apprentice.

Sept 4

Today is my fifth day away from home. But then, I should explain, shouldn't I? My town has been a hotspot for scientific and military recruiting since its inception. Every so many years a high school student will receive an offer to become part of a military or scientific operation instead of a college acceptance letter. Thing is, they finish high school first.

I have no idea what made _me_ look appealing or why they decided to cut my schooling short and recruit me at the beginning of my junior year of school, but they did. And back in my hometown being chosen for a military science campaign is like being specified in a prophecy. So of course I accepted. It wasn't really a question. It's like being handed a full-ride scholarship to Harvard. If those existed.

So after a few weeks of school I was pulled out, my transcripts erased and the rest of my public record filed as classified. Fun hmm? I was starting to wonder what I'd gotten myself into. Then this man with a black suit, earbud and a _very_ straight tie showed up at my house. He talked to my parents a little, then came over to me. He told me that I would be moving to a location which was classified. As of yet, I still do not know where I am. He said that I should be ready by Sunday. It was Friday. A little sudden, wouldn't you say? But I wasn't going to argue, so my parents helped me pack and I promised to call and/or write or email or whatever. Then on Sunday I went to the airport and the earbud man escorted me around security and to a really small private aircraft and I sat next to two other future interns. They were both boys out of high school. I felt like a dwarf next to them, because they were about six-four. Then the plane took off and I got out my sketchpad and started drawing and one of them asked what I was doing and I said I was drawing and they asked what was worth drawing and I said it depended on the situation. Then they both laughed at me. I got up to go to the bathroom and sat in there for about 20 minutes just to avoid them. Then I stole an extra flight attendant's seat for the rest of the plane trip, which was four hours.

I was about ready to smash my head in a door from boredom and from pressure changes when we landed at a teensy military base in God-knows-where. The boys and I were then escorted to a briefing room. They looked bored. I must've looked scared, because they snickered and pointed at me in a manner that they thought I couldn't see. But I could, so I promptly gave them the Finger. Hey, I'm living alone now, I can do what I want. This big explanation thingy came on the flatscreen television and I spent about an hour soaking up the truth about our country's military. In short there were these giant alien robots that were at war on our planet for about five years, then this other group called M.E.C.H. showed up and the "bad guys" ended up joining the "good guys" because most of their troops were slaughtered or turned into MECH drones and other crazy shit like that. So now in order to counter the drones, several science programs were under way. I thought that that was pretty cool. I didn't know what I'd be assigned to do, but I was certainly curious to find out. The boys had expressions on their face like "is this a joke". I just sat there obediently. Then earbud dude waltzed in and gave us each rooms to go find. I wandered around for a while, decided that the whole system of numbering rooms was thoroughly effed up, and then asked a random soldier for directions. He was very polite, but looked a little sad when he saw what room I was going to.

The man waiting for me was short and fat and spoke with an accent that I'd never heard before. He was red-faced and the center of his head was bald. He lectured me for being late and then bragged about being able to speak fluent Mandarin, Greek and Latvian. I asked "what about Spanish? It's one of the most spoken languages in the world" and he curtly stated that he could certainly speak Spanish too if he wanted to. To which I replied "Luego dame que se digo en ingles por favor; traduce." He looked blankly at me and I laughed. "Es obvio que usted no hable español. Luego, silencio." He did shut up, but I don't think it was because he understood what I'd said. This man, it turned out, was the liaison of the scientist I'd be working with. Just great. That meant I'd see him and his big-headed self again. But part of me was exhilarated. What kind of job would I be doing if my mentor needed a liaison? Maybe he spoke one of the obscure languages that the man had mentioned. Eventually I figured out that the liaison's name was Jeremiah.

After becoming thoroughly bored, I asked Jeremiah how much longer we would had to wait. However, because I asked in Spanish, I only received a death-glare in answer. Finally somebody who looked like the boss came in and announced that I would be working on an important project called "Predacon". I didn't so much care about the "important" part as I did the "Predacon" part. It just sounded cool!

"The director of the project who will be your mentor is Shockwave," the man told me. _Shockwave,_ I thought, _what kind of a name is that? Is it so secretive here that people give codenames to other people? _That wasn't it, but I didn't know that then. The guy blabbed on about how this would be a lifetime career and how I could still go home up until the point where I entered the lab facility, but I wasn't really paying much attention. I didn't have anything else to do with my life. Besides, I liked science. I finally interrupted him when he started to go off on a tangent.

"Do I get insurance benefits?" There was a brief and confused pause. Apparently nobody asked about these things.

"Yes," the man said finally, "you do."

"Great," I said, "and how about my own room?" For two years I'd shared a room with a cousin who couldn't find a job near her home so had moved in with my family. No way am I _ever_ sharing a room again. She messed with all of my stuff!

"I don't know. You'll have to discuss that with Shockwave."

"And my hours?"

"Again, that isn't something that I decide…"

"One more thing. What's the food like?" He stared at me. "Hey, I'm going through my mental checklist of whether or not I'll survive there or not. Because you _said_ that I can't come back once I go in." I love pulling that sort of thing on people. You know, when they're totally sure you're not listening and then you spit their whole soap-box-speech back in their face? "And have I got a computer?"

"Standard-issue."

"Whatever. How often can I go shopping for personal items?"

"You'd put in a request and we order them."

"But then I've gotta pay shipping and handling, see…"

"We'll handle that," he growled, exasperated. Clearly nobody took him seriously most of the time, so he didn't enjoy my sudden questionnaire.

"The Hell you will! The bill's gonna end up smack on _my_ desk. Hey, does this job pay?"

"What?"

"Just asking."

"Once your apprenticeship is over…"

"What do you expect me to live on until then? There are some things I have to buy every so often."

"You have a monthly budget of spending money."

"Does it roll over?"

"Jesus girl!"

"You said I had to be sure," I smiled, taunting him.

"You get half of what you didn't spend as rollover," he hissed.

"Good, I can save up for stuff."

"The meals are free. I don't know what you'd be buying…"

"Chocolate bars, pens, pencils, drawing paper…"

"Those last are standard…"

"…issued but not up to par. I use _very_ specific pens." He moaned.

"Anything else Your Highness?"

"Oh yeah. Phone?"

"Your computers can double as a phone. But your conversations can be monitored." That meant _will_ be monitored. Bleh.

"Can I call my parents?"

"You get two calls a month."

"Two?! You can't be serious. Do those roll over?"

"No."

"What about mail?"

"One letter per month."

"Page limit?"

"Three. Single spaced, twelve point font."

"Email?"

"Nope."

"This ain't looking so good, mate."

"Oh, I'm sorry, you can't text your friends or be on Facebook. How horrifying!"

"Not what I was gonna say. I mean, what if there's a family emergency? Or if one of my friends gets hit by a truck? I won't be able to know what's going on."

"I didn't say that _they_ couldn't call _you_. Only that _you_ couldn't call _them_."

"What?"

"We'll take their messages and deliver them to you."

"Eh…"

"Best we can offer for security reasons."

"Throw in a Hershey's Special Dark chocolate bar and you have a deal." One of the man's underlings snickered. I was pleased with myself.

"I'm calling Shockwave," the man had said tiredly, "so behave yourself."

"Oh, but I wouldn't want to give him the wrong impression…"

_"I mean it!" _I put on a pouty face. He chittered into his phone, and then a giant green portal that the informational movie had called a "groundbridge" opened in front of me. Whoa. That meant über important people were involved in this project. I straightened. The figure that stepped out of the portal was tall and broadly built. He walked with an air of authority. His left arm appeared to have been amputated at the elbow, his head housed two close-set eyes that seemed to bore into my soul, and his nose was rather flat. Below that was a thin line that I took to be his mouth. "This," said the tired man, "is Shockwave. Shockwave, _this_," he said with mild distaste, "is Jillian Judith McKenzie."

"I prefer Judy, sir," I said. I heard the other man growl.

"He'll call you whatever he wants to." I cast him a baleful look. "What? He will."

"That doesn't mean I can't state my preference, does it?" I said snippily. The boss-man looked ready to explode. The liaison was asleep in his chair. Shockwave nodded to the boss-man and indicated that I follow him back into the portal.

"Inform Jeremiah that he may discuss the matter that he earlier mentioned with me at any time that he finds suitable," he said in a rather flat tone to the boss-man. Then he turned to me. "Judy," he said and gestured at the portal. I hesitated for a moment out of nervousness, but then stepped determinedly into it. Shockwave followed me into the swirling vortex and when we stepped out we were in a large, dark room. Shockwave went over to a computer and started punching keys with his right hand.

"What happened to your arm?" I asked.

"Nothing has "happened" to it. This is simply the way that my holoform presents itself. I agree that it is rather… inefficient."

"Uh… Holoform?"

"Did the informational segment not include holoforms? I must speak with Starscream and the others who are involved in its scripting to alter it to include them. They are paramount to your understanding of Cybertronians."

"Uh, it didn't mention Cyber… uh… what you just said there… either…" Shockwave shook his head.

"This is most unfortunate. I will have to waste time explaining. A Cybertronian is any life form that originated from the planet Cybertron. We are often larger and possess a longer lifespan than your kind. Our technology far surpasses your own. We are, in your terms, giant mechanical beings that disguise ourselves as your technology. Holoforms are another means of disguise. I deemed that my robotic mode would only intimidate you at this stage. Perhaps when you are more accustomed to your surroundings I will less frequently use the holoform."

"Um, sure. Is there something I'm supposed to be doing?"

"For today you may arrange your quarters as you see fit. They are there," he gestured a door. "Tomorrow I will begin to instruct you on your daily activities."

"Alright sir." I walked over to the door, which slid open when I neared it. It closed behind me and I got a look at where I'd be living.

My room isn't that bad. I mean I needed to move some furniture around, but the necessities are all here. A closet, a desk, a bed, a chest of drawers, a bathroom… I only wish I have a beanbag chair or a rug or something. Maybe I can save up for that.

After I unpacked, I flopped on my bed and ended up napping for a few hours to shake off the jet lag. Then I got restless so I went outside. Shockwave was nowhere to be seen. I looked around at stuff, but didn't touch any of it. That was the Number One Rule when in a new place. Do. Not. Touch. I saw some pretty crazy stuff. There were camera inputs on some computers that were focused on empty rooms or on huge cylinders filled with bubbling yellow liquid. Other computers displayed various double helix strands that had parts of them highlighted or removed for closer inspection. I was fascinated. I went over to another wall where there were beakers full of green goo, but they were too far off the ground for me to reach. Actually most of the room seemed like it was built for someone eight times my size. I went back into my room and examined my "standard-issue" laptop. It was a kind of laptop that I'd never seen before. There wasn't a manufacturer's name on it, nor did it have a barcode, and it wasn't running any OS that I'd ever heard of. There was a strange translucent screen on the back of the desk and a pull-out keyboard tray that looked like it might be another computer. I brought my laptop over to my bed (which I pushed against the wall) and looked for a power button. I eventually located it and booted up the system. Various symbols flashed on the screen. I have no idea what any of it meant. I pressed a key and suddenly a large box came up. I couldn't read the symbols, but I typed my name into it. The letters all turned red from left to right and a progress bar appeared. Suddenly the symbols vanished, replaced by several names of different languages. I found "English", and clicked it. The screen flickered and the words "Language setting: English" appeared. Then it said "Welcome User 4. Please input your chosen username." and a box appeared. I didn't want it to call me by my actual name, so I thought of something more interesting to call myself. I put in "Fright" because I wanted to. "Welcome User Fright. Please select your dominant side." I pressed "R". "Dominant side set to right." I went through a few other questions and then it took me to the home screen. There was a funny red icon that appeared in the upper right corner. It had symbols on it too. I pressed it, curious. It flashed red and said "searching for authorized network…" Then the translucent screen on my desk glowed and the words "sync completed" flashed on both screens. I was thoroughly confused. I left the computers to do their computer-y things and went back outside. Shockwave was pressing buttons again. He turned when he saw me.

"I would have thought you had gone to recharge," he said.

"Recharge?"

"In human terms, sleep."

"Why?"

"The current time suggests that most humans would be recharging at the moment."

"Why, what time is it? They made me turn off my watch so I wouldn't know the time zone."

"The current Earth time is twenty-three hours and fourteen minutes."

"Oh, you use the twenty-four hour clock? Sure, whatever." I set my watch for 11:15. Shockwave seemed perplexed.

"There are twenty-four hours in a day, correct?"

"Yes but most humans divide it into two sets of twelve, like this," I tapped my watch. He came over and looked at it. "Twenty-four would be twelve A.M., meaning ante-median or before noon, and then twelve on the twenty four hour clock would be twelve P.M., or post-median. After noon. The A.M. or P.M. continues until the next twelve." Shockwave rolled his eyes.

"Humans. Your kind always seem to complicate simple matters." I laughed.

"You think so huh? Ha, and you don't even know about the Metric versus Imperial System conflict."

"Enlighten me."

I proceeded to explain various flaws in human culture to Shockwave. It seemed to confirm his suspicions that we were rather inferior to his own Cybertronian race. After that he said I'd best go and "recharge" because he wanted me to be up early.

Not much has happened in the days since then. Shockwave helped me calibrate my computers and showed me some of the programming that I have to monitor. It's relatively simple. But I still can't help but wonder why someone more experienced with computers than myself wasn't chosen.

Holy shit this is in its eighth page and only the first entry… I'd better end this now before it gets any longer.

And no, my real name is not Jillian Judith Mackenzie. I just thought of something... Well... normal-ish I guess.


End file.
